A Camel's Back
by Hiruma Youichi
Summary: A 'New Trainer' type fic, based upon the game and Pokemon Special


A/N: For those who have read Pokemon Adventures/Special, I have tried to do this fic in similar style to that of the manga.

"So…What's your choice?" The white-haired man looked at him. An interesting question indeed. This choice could quite possibly be the most important one he ever took. A journey would at least last up to two years. The average amount of time for a journey before a trainer made it into the league was three years. Thus, it was no surprise that Lancen had thought out this decision for a very long time before he turned twelve. Yet, when the brown-haired boy opened his mouth, there was a hint of hesitation in his thin face. Mainly, he felt extremely reckless for making such a decision. Surely others would have chosen a seemingly more powerful partner? After all, there was nothing wrong with having a head start on the journey, no? Still, Lancen Valkner, while not the most brave of humans, had decided to take the risk. He has seen the evolution of this pokemon. It just simply appealed to him.

"Numel," he said clearly. Oak had a quizzical look on his wrinkled face. Numel? That was hardly a pokemon most people would choose. Indeed, Professor Oak had seen far more common choices, especially an incredibly popular group of pokemon, mostly the pre-evolutions of dragon types, Eevee, dark pokemon in general, and fire types. Although Numel was a ground-type, which was popular enough, it was down there with Torkoal and Magcargo in terms of popularity. In Oak's opinion, youngsters preferred cool, flashy-looking pokemon. When you look at a Numel, instantly you'd think, 'Ew. What an ugly pokemon. Doesn't look powerful either.' The connotations associated with it are mostly, if not always, negative.

Lancen had been expecting this reaction, which was exactly why he was prepared for it.

"Prof, a Numel is as strong as any other pokemon, yes?" The teenager sighed resignedly. He had not gotten any flak from his guardian for this choice; in fact his guardian had agreed to it. It was, after all, his choice, his guardian claimed. However, the boy had a sinking feeling that that would not be the case for the rest of his journey.

"While I'm not in any position to comment on your choice of pokemon…Surely you would prefer to reconsider? A Magmar, perhaps? I just received one from one of my donators…" Oak trailed off. The Pokemon Prof was not surprised that Lancen could tell what he was thinking, considering that it had been written all over his face, and Lancen, even if he was a coward, was certainly a bright boy.

"Prof, I must ask once more, a Numel is not disadvantaged compared to another pokemon such as Magmar, right?" Lancen wanted to get his pokemon before the professor managed to convince otherwise.

Oak decided that, once was enough. Clearly, this trainer had his mind set on having a Numel as his partner, and nothing would change that fact. And, after some contemplation, why not? No law ever stated "Thou shall be a good trainer only if he starts out with a Bagon." The elder of the two males searched around the shelves in his lab a little. He had a moderate amount of Numels; and in five minutes, the white-haired man turned around, the classic red-and-white sphere in his hand.

"Thanks." Lancen lightly took the pokeball from Oak's hand. As he turned to leave, the voice of the Pokemon Prof stopped him.

"Good luck for your pokemon journey."

The younger of the two grinned slightly, and after placing the pokedex that Oak was handing him into his pocket, opened the door and walked out.

Click. With a push of the button, Lancen released his Numel from the pokeball. It was standard procedure for a trainer to make contact with pokemon that he had obtained within fifteen minutes, and thus, after picking up his backpack, pokegear, and assorted items at his home, Lancen had done just that. He had of course said goodbye to his guardian beforehand.

Lancen looked at his pokemon. The Numel looked like it was suffering from a lack of sleep, with rather droopy eyes that had a grey ring surrounding them. Luckily, he had made sure to read up on Numel beforehand, and knew that it was their general appearance. Lancen wasted no time in introducing himself.

"My name is Lancen Valkner. I'm your trainer and will most probably be your trainer for a very long time, so hopefully you can get used to me," he said.

Numel replied by saying "Numel." Luckily, its eyes and mouth also curved up into a smile, so Lancen had not much difficulty in interpreting the response. So far, so good.

Lancen looked at his pokedex. According to the mechanical device, Numel was of a Brave nature, was male, knew the attacks Growl and Tackle, and fitted the bill of a normal Numel. In other words, its attacking stats were decent enough, but it was as slow as a slug. Not too bad. Still, any pokemon would benefit from a few fights, and Lancen was pretty sure that Numel would be good enough for some battles in the tall grass.

After some vigorous battling, Lancen figured his pokemon was battered enough and made a beeline for the Pokemon Center in Oldale Town. Oldale itself was a pretty calm and peaceful place with little excitement. A gym was also absent, but Lancen didn't really mind. Numel, while having leveled up a large amount and learned the fire attack "Ember", was definitely in no condition for a battle against a Gym Leader. Furthermore, he had no pokeballs for capturing so Numel was currently his only pokemon.

"Your pokemon is back to full health. Thank you for visiting the Pokemon Centre and we hope to see you again," the nurse replied cheerfully. After muttered thanks, Lancen decided to explore the town. He noticed that, for the most part, the residents there that had pokemon only had common one such as Zigzagoon and Hoothoot. The town consisted mainly of houses, the standard Pokemon Centre and PokeMart, and some shops. While these were mostly provision shops and the like, there was a jewellery store in the town. Making a mental note to go to the PokeMart for some pokeballs later, Lancen glanced around the jewellery store. The main attraction of the place was a large, spherical blue gem that was incredibly beautiful. It had a fairly high price tag though, which was why no one had bought it, Lancen reasoned.

It was at this point that a voice shouted, 'Freeze.' Fairly melodramatic. A young man was standing there with a Raticate by his side and a sack in hand. Since he apparently did not possess a weapon of any kind, Lancen, along with the others in the jewellery store, assumed that the Raticate was fairly high-leveled.

The crowd did as the robber commanded. The robber then quickly walked up to the cashier and demanded all money present in the store while his Raticate broke the glass with its powerful teeth and took the jewellery. The duo was highly efficient, and Lancen thought that the police would not arrive before their escape. Numel apparently thought so too, as he jerked around, forcing the pokeball to rattle.

"Stop it," Lancen hissed. His knees were trembling slightly, and his hands were cold. The pokemon only jerked around with more force than before. He was a pokemon of the Brave nature, after all. He would not back down from any enemy. Lancen, groaned slightly, but at the same time, felt a strange feeling in his person. He was cold. Cold with fear, and with _excitement._ If he didn't come out of this one alive, he'd tell his Numel 'told you so' in the afterlife.

The brown-haired boy stepped out, with Numel by his side. He was the only one that could have done it; no one else had pokemon to match the Raticate. His opponent grinned mockingly.

"Want to be a hero, boy? Let me show you what the differences between trainers. Raticate! Use Body Slam!" the robber said. Lancen gritted his teeth. Here it comes. The Raticate zipped at high speed, leapt into the air, angled itself downwards at 45 degrees, and rocketed downwards. Shit, it really was high-leveled.

"Numel, burn him with Ember!" The fire-type spouted out little bursts of flame from the hole on its back that pelted the rat pokemon. The force moved the pokemon slightly, and while Numel luckily managed to lumber out of the way with its short limbs, it was still hit by the shockwaves and flying pieces of concrete. However, both trainers noticed that Raticate was burned pretty badly; health would be drained from it slowly and its strength was effectively cut in half.

"Heh. My Numel stores magma in its body that measures almost 2,200 Fahrenheit. It's no wonder your Raticate got so badly burnt," Lancen grinned slightly. The odds had been evened. Or so he thought.

"Raticate! Quick Attack!" the robber said, seeming unperturbed by the latest development in the battle. Raticate twitched slightly, and then moved incredibly fast. To the naked eye, it looked remarkably as if Raticate had just teleported straight at Numel. The pokemon flew back from the great impact.

"What?" Lancen thought. Instead of having decreased strength, Raticate only appeared stronger than he was previously.

"My Raticate's trait is Guts, and it activates when Raticate is suffering from a status condition, negating any decrease of attacking strength caused by burn, and also increasing the attacking strength of Raticate," the robber explained, smirking. This was bad. Lancen quickly consulted his pokedex. Numel's wounds were quite serious, and one more hit from Raticate would end it.

Apparently his opponent knew it too. "Use Scary Face to hold him in place, and finish this battle up with Body Slam." Raticate quickly executed the first command. The rat pokemon glared angrily at Numel, making sure to pour all its sinister malice into the expression. Numel backed away slightly, face contorted. Raticate quickly capitalized on the advantage, once more repeating the maneuver it carried out earlier.

Even though Lancen knew that with Scary Face in effect, Numel could not move, he commanded him to dodge anyway. Raticate struck down right on Numel, causing a great impact on the ground. Or at least, that's what would have happened if Numel had not rolled out of the way, making Raticate land on the hard floor. Raticate quickly rolled to recover from the impact.

"Ah…I see. My Numel is of a Brave nature, hence why your Scary Face attack did not affect it as much as compared to other pokemon." Great save! Lancen wiped away a bead of sweat from his forehead. Even if it was completely by sheer luck, he now had an opportunity to tip the scales in his favour. Lancen's eyes scanned the lines of displayed by the pokedex, hoping to find something of use. _Gnaws on trees and rocks…teeth are continuously growing…webbed hind feet…_Then, Lancen hit the jackpot. Now to put this information to good use.

"Numel, use Ember to cover the entire area between there, and Raticate with fire!" Lancen motioned with his finger. Numel's face contorted with concentration as he dug deep within the magma in his body, before a rain of fireballs sped towards Raticate. Raticate swiftly zigzagged through the fireballs, putting its great speed to good use.

"What kind of attack was that? It only burnt off Raticate's whiskers…" The blood drained from the robber's face. Not surprising that the trainer would know his own pokemon better then the opponent. Raticate, due to their fast speed, have a weak sense of balance. They counter this problem by using their whiskers as balancing aids. Whiskers, which were now gone. Numel proceeded to beat up on the defenseless Raticate, before Tackling the robber and knocking him out.


End file.
